Emergency wood fire under a silnylon tarp?

[burtonator]

I was thinking today of the problem of dealing with emergencies in the woods while reading a post about hypothermia and an epic rain storm over 2-3 days.

I was also caught in a really difficult wind storm where the weather just became insanely windy and cold and was stuck on the other side of a pass for about 1-2 days. I didn't want to attempt the snowy pass with 40MPH winds.

In these situations it would be nice to be able to have a wood fire under your tarp. You can of course have a gas stove but this is extra weight and in an emergency situation you might run out of fuel.

I carry a wood stove so I have essentially infinite fuel.

I think the only problems would be:

1. venting exhaust / smoke / carbon monoxide

2. sparks hitting your tent and melting it.

However, within the confines of a good tarp, the rain shouldn't be a problem.

So one could jump out of the hammock and maintain the fire.

1L of hot tea can REALLY turn your spirits around.

If the hammock isn't full sealed the smoke won't be much of an issue other than maybe causing your gear to smell.

I think the biggest issue is sparks.

Perhaps one could carry a lightweight spark arrester in the form of a cheap metal mesh like those used in window screens.

The downside of course could be damaging your tarp but if you're not a complete idiot and keep the fire low and away from your tarp/hammock I think you would be fine.

Thoughts?

[Fronkey]

Give this a watch. Pretty cool.



Fronkey

[hangnout]

Fire under tarp

You can see how we did it at about the 3 min mark and more detail at the 16 min mark.

[Sidewinder]

In the conditions you describe I would not risk having a fire unless your stove/tarp was designed for that purpose. I used a hot tent last weekend up at lake Alpine in the Sierras and it worked out very nicely. I don't sleep in the tent only eat and hang out in it.

I would be concerned about the wind especially if you are talking about +40mph sustained. Not many tarps will be able to withstand that kind of weather. If you think that kind of weather is going to be a possibility, I would have a backup plan.

S

[packeagle]

Give this a watch. Pretty cool.



Fronkey

I wanna see this done with the cuben derangable (or however its spelled).

[mbiraman]

Super shelter works as long as you have plastic, some tools like a saw , axe and a knife,,,and a good supply of wood. Most people are not going to have these things all in one spot.
On a number of winter hikes i've been on i used my Bushbuddy to make tea and food and when the flames died but there was plenty of coals i placed the BB between my legs while seated and wrapped an emergency blanket around me. The adventure medical emergency blanket is 5x8'. It was probably 70 degree's within a couple of minutes. Very little wood needed.

If its an emergency you could hang a disposable emergency blanket under your tarp to protect it from sparks. Everyone should have a good emergency blanket with them at all times. Weighs almost nothing.
The other possibility is take a white gas can. Turn it into a wood stove. Get a Titanium Goat 3" stove pipe and take that with you instead of the regular wood stoves we usually talk about. You can cook on it and its a heat source for your body.
The last thing is there are big hot pockets, about 7x10" for the kidney area. Carry a few of them.


bill

[nothermark]

I have not done it with silnylon but we used what we called a Buckley tarp (Dave figured it out). Basic flat nylon tarp with wings sewn in to block the wind/rain. Pitched the back 8-10 in off the ground with the front ~5 ft. sit log inside the front and the fire built at the outside edge. tarp acted as a shelter, reflector and chimney. Air in the back pushed the smoke out away at the front.

I have been considering doing something like that by pitching back side and one corner down with i corner up like porch mode. With a small stove you won't have a lot of flying embers but the screen idea sounds interesting. There should be enough heat to make a difference. If I was going to try to block that side much I would use a space blanket or a small tarp that I was using for a cooking tarp. Cheaper than taking a hit on the big tarp. One still needs ventilation of CO becomes an issue. OTOH I don't see being able to seal things tight enough to worry about. It is not something that will get you all warm and snugly or to use while sleeping but may well take of the chill and dry things out.

[burtonator]

This super shelter is pretty sweet...

They never said what the inside temperature ended up being.

I guess one issue is that if the fire goes out the temperature will drop. And the other issue is that attending the fire means you have to go outside.

Which I guess isn't the end of the world.

The hot tent setup seems SLIGHTLY better than this in terms of comfort.

The only downside obviously is the extra weight.

Give this a watch. Pretty cool.



Fronkey

[Catavarie]

For cold winter camping, there is no lightweight. It's is far better to be carrying 50lbs and make it home happy and healthy than to be found after the snow has melted.


Another option I haven't seen anyone mention yet is a Dakota Fire. Keeps the flames low so that your tarp is safer and still allows the tarp to trap the heat.

[Fronkey]

This super shelter is pretty sweet...

They never said what the inside temperature ended up being.

I guess one issue is that if the fire goes out the temperature will drop. And the other issue is that attending the fire means you have to go outside.

Which I guess isn't the end of the world.

The hot tent setup seems SLIGHTLY better than this in terms of comfort.

The only downside obviously is the extra weight.

There's really nothing better than hot camping when it comes to deep cold. This is just a modded technique based on the Mor's super shelter. It's easier to carry the plastic for survival if needed.

I liked Hangnouts rock fire. Pretty cool.

Fronkey